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A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.